


Into the Deep End

by sunchime



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, First Kiss, Five doesn't time travel, Fluff, Pseudo-Incest, Swimming, Teenagers, ain't no running boys in my fluffy fic my dudes, the siblings involve vanya a bit more but reggie is still an ass, this is an au where everything is slightly happier dammit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 03:09:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18682930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunchime/pseuds/sunchime
Summary: What about psychology could possibly be making her blush? Why was she avoiding looking at him?“Well there’s a lot about how water is good for the mind. It’s good for meditation, concentration, inspiration...”Ah.“So you’re saying I should get in the pool.”





	Into the Deep End

**Author's Note:**

> HEY CAN I JUST GIVE THE BIGGEST SHOUT OUT FOR MY GIRL @LUCKUBUS!! SHE HELPED ME SO MUCH WITH GETTING THE ENDING OF THIS FIC TOGETHER AND FIXING ALL THE LITTLE DETAILS!!!!! ALSO THE FUCKING TITLE AND SUMMARY??? PRAISE THIS AMAZING SOUL??? SHE IS THE BEST AND BLESS HER I HOPE SHE HAS A WONDERFUL DAY!!!!!
> 
> ALSO I WANNA INCLUDE EVERYONE IN THE DISCORD TOO??? THEY WERE ALL SO WONDERFUL AND HELPFUL AND SUPPORTIVE AND GENUINELY THE NICEST PEOPLE ON THE PLANET THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!!!

Five didn’t know how he got there. Well, if he were to be more precise, how _they_ got there. If someone had come by earlier that day knocking on the front door of the Umbrella Academy and asked him which of the children had the ability to spacial jump, he would have scoffed and slammed the door in their face, not even bothering to humor the bastard.

But now he was starting to wonder…

Five was pissed. Had been pissed. Earlier that week. (Was still a little pissed to be frank.) Once again his theories for time travel had been shot down by Father Time himself. Or at least, that’s what their asshole father seemed to think of himself. What a fucking gatekeeper. How many more times did Five have to perfect his equations for the man to at least deign them a sparing glance?

His blood boiled from recalling their “conversation” from earlier that day. In what way was it reasonable to ridicule your child’s lifetime work by completely destroying it? Five had stood stonefaced in his father’s office as the man burned the entirety of his notebooks containing his completed theory from that year. (Right after using Pogo to shred them to until they were a sad excuse for confetti, of course.)

Not that it mattered much, Five had made more than enough copies of all his notebooks knowing that that would have been the most likely outcome. Yet, for whatever _stupid_ reason, he still hoped his father would have listened.

“Five?”

He jerked at his name, looking up to see a concerned Vanya watching him in the dim lighting. Right…

How had she managed to drag them there in the first place? Reginald wasn’t one to be away from his cameras for too long, and without Five’s teleporting, there should have been no logical way for Vanya to have gotten them to the gymnasium pool undetected.

“Vanya,” he said simply. He wanted to ask her why they were even down there, how the hell she did it, what she was planning, but something seemed to stop him from voicing those thoughts. An ugly lump sat in his throat and he realized he had clenched his jaw at some point.

Vanya looked at him warily. She had seemed so confident before, gripping his hands tightly as she more or less dragged him down the halls. Hell, if he hadn’t known it had been her in front of him, he would’ve assumed it was Allison or Klaus pulling him like he was some kind of sad puppy on a leash. But she had turned to him with a rare smile, soft and small, and Five had melted instantly.

_What a fucking sap._

He released the tension from his shoulders and cleared his throat. “What is it?” Five tried more gently, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Vanya seemed to hesitate before she spoke again. “Look....I know — I _know_ how important,” she paused as if considering, “ _it_ is to you.”

He clenched his jaw again but released it quickly.

“But Dad’s an asshole.”

_Ha!_

No matter how many times he’d heard her swear, it still took Five by surprise. He felt his heart flutter a little with pride, unable to fight the little smirk crawling up his face. How the hell did she manage to do that to him with one simple word?

Although, he had to admit, it was nice seeing the ways they rubbed off on each other.

“And you’re too smart for him anyway,” she continued, voice rising slightly. “We only have — what? Two years left in this place before we can finally get out? And by the time we do, you’ll be more than capable of proving him wrong.”

He sucked in a breath. Sure he knew he was good, but it was rare that Vanya stroked his ego like this, always making a point give him an eye roll whenever he was acting too full of himself.

“You’ll be the next Einstein or Hawking and dad won’t have any claim to that. Your success will be all your own!” Vanya had begun pacing as her encouraging, if somewhat exasperated, speech reached its peak.

Five’s heart swelled with something akin to affection, his ears pinking. He coughed into his hand to hide it. “Thanks for the pep-talk, Vanya. But how does that explain the pool?”

She stilled at that, looking to him with what looked like... embarrassment? “Uh.” Even in the dark, Five could see a brilliant shade of red dusting her cheeks and couldn’t help the spark of curiosity that lit inside him. Why was she blushing?

As always, she used her bangs to hide and he couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed with how it covered her face. Her eyes especially. While her medication had a tendency to numb her emotions, it couldn’t hide how expressive her eyes were, the way the most subtle of shifts exposed how she really felt about something.

Unconsciously, Five reached out a hand, like he wanted to brush it out of her face. But Vanya spoke up again, and he snatched his hand back like it had been burned, cheeks flaming.

“You know how me and Ben exchange books?” She blurted out.

Five nodded. Yes, he knew that. Every now and then he’d offer up a book he thought one of them might enjoy, usually classics for Vanya and mysteries for Ben. Sometimes they had good stuff too, especially when they were on a science fiction kick. (He’ll admit it to himself [and only himself] that once in a while those writers were onto something.)

“Well, we’ve been catching up on psychology and Ben found something interesting...” She hesitated to continue.

He cocked an eyebrow impatiently. “And?” What about psychology could possibly be making her blush? Why was she avoiding looking at him?

“Well there’s a lot about how water is good for the mind. It’s good for meditation, concentration, inspiration...”

_Ah._

“So you’re saying I should get in the pool.”

If it was possible, Vanya managed to shrink further into herself, fully looking at the floor now. Five felt a little guilty. “Look, I know it sounds stupid, but I thought it’d be worth a shot. It’s something different so maybe it’ll be a good distraction.” Vanya shrugged a shoulder, finally, _finally_ peeking out from her bangs. “And, well, if it doesn’t work, at least it was worth trying?”

Vanya’s eyes looked so hopeful — big and doe-like — there wasn’t really a chance he could say no to her. But he had to at least keep up the pretense, didn’t he?

The wheels in his mind turned as he considered the idea. There wasn’t much to lose in this situation other than potentially getting caught by Dad, or Pogo who would report to Dad, or Mom who would then be forced to report to Dad. And you know what? Five was already pissed at two out of the three and they had already destroyed a year’s worth of his work (or so they thought), so fuck it.

Five opened his mouth to agree.

Then stopped.

_Shit._

_What about Vanya?_

Five looked into her hopeful eyes and saw how badly she wanted him to try this, but he needed to make sure that she wouldn’t get hurt. “And if we get caught?”

Vanya straightened at that. “Ben already put the video footage on loop for our rooms and the pool. They’ll see us in bed, asleep the whole time.” She looked so satisfied with herself, a bright smile on her face as she waited for his reaction.

Impressive. Damn impressive.

“And if Pogo or Mom hears us?”

She blinked at him and tilted her head. “The room is soundproof.”

Huh. Shit. How long had it been since he was forced to swim here? Too long apparently.

Five shrugged. If Vanya was absolutely sure, then he couldn’t say no. “I’m in.”

There was absolutely no fucking reason for Five’s heart to beat as fast as it did when Vanya beamed at him. Her smile was too bright and he had to look away as the light practically burned him pink. In that moment, he was grateful that the only lighting was coming from the pool lights and (hopefully) too dim for her to see. Shit, he was a total mess tonight.

_Get yourself together, asshole!_

He cleared his throat, hoping beyond all reason that she wouldn’t notice the color in his face. “Uh— So. What do I need to do?”

Vanya’s face had cooled down by the time he had accepted her help, but now her face was red again. It felt somewhat comforting knowing she was red too (fuck, if he could see her blush, could she see his?). And also a bit satisfying that he could put that color there. But then again... had it really been him? He knew that Vanya could be self-conscious and turn red from something as simple as bumping into someone, perpetually embarrassed for taking up space.

“Um, you’ll need to change to get into the pool. Your locker should still have your swimsuit...” She trailed off as she glanced in the direction of the locker rooms.

Reasonable. “So we’ll change and then what?”

Vanya snapped her attention back to him and blanched. “Actually, I won’t be getting in.”

“Why not?” He frowned.

Shifting her weight from foot to foot, she offered a tiny, “Mine doesn’t fit anymore.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. You’ve practically been the same height since we were twelve.”

“I haven't worn my swimsuit since we were twelve,” she whined.

That’s right. After Dad had taught them all how to swim well enough not to drown, Vanya had stopped coming to their training. To Reginald, there was no reason to teach her the ways of underwater combat if she wasn’t apart of the Umbrella Academy.

He shook his head. “It should still fit though, you’re the same—”

“It’s fine!”

In an uncharacteristically bold gesture, Vanya ran behind Five and started pushing him towards the boy’s locker room, small hands pressing against his back. “It doesn’t matter Five. This is about _you_ and getting you to _relax_. I’ll just watch from the edge, it’s fine.”

Five could practically feel the heat radiating off of her. What about a swimsuit made her so uncomfortable? It wasn’t _that_ big of a deal if it was a little small, the water usually expanded the material anyway.

Well, whatever. If she didn’t want to get in that was fine. He’d still do what she asked him to.

* * *

 When Five walked out of the locker room, he saw that Vanya had taken off her socks and shoes, legs swinging lazily in the water. Her jacket, vest, and tie were neatly folded into a pile beside her.

She caught him looking at her, gaze flickering to him before abruptly looking back at the water, and explained, “It’s kinda humid in here.” She patted the pile of clothes before scooting them further away. “Probably best not to get these wet,” she mumbled to herself.

It wasn’t often that he saw her without the usual fully-put-together uniform. Occasionally, she’d remove her jacket in the summer and maybe loosen her tie if she was feeling gutsy (after all, Dad did like to punish them if they ever presented themselves as anything less than perfect).

It looked nice.

Five shook his head before walking over to the pool ladder. He raised an eyebrow. “I’m guessing you want me to get in then?”

Nodding, Vanya picked up a book that had apparently been resting at her other side. She flipped through the pages, searching for something. “This book had a couple of techniques we could try. Most of them were for the ocean or a lake but,” she glanced up at him briefly before flipping again. “I guess the pool is the next best thing?”

_Might as well._

He climbed down the ladder, letting the water slowly surround him. It took a hot second to adjust to the temperature of the water, surprisingly cooler than the humid air of the gymnasium, but it wasn’t so bad. Making his way over to her, Five made sure to give her enough space so as not to accidentally get her wet.

“Okay, so you need to try evening out your breathing. Like this,” she demonstrated as she read over the directions.

Five copied her, inhaling deeply through his nose, holding it, then releasing it slowly out his mouth.

“Okay, now you need to close your eyes and repeat that for... about a minute?”

Confused, Five glanced up at her. “You’re not sure?”

Vanya pulled the book closer to her face, as if having it closer would make it easier to understand. “It doesn’t really give a definite answer. It says ‘ranging anywhere from 60 seconds to 10 minutes.’” She looked up from the book and shrugged. “I figured a minute would suit you best?”

Five couldn’t argue with that.

He did as he was instructed. In and out. In and out. As he repeated this exercise, Five allowed his mind to wander. That was usually the intended purpose for these kinds of things anyway. Why not beat it to the punch?

Five felt the weight of the water on his legs as he slowly kicked, a bit heavy and lethargic. It’d been a while since he had been in the pool (or in any water outside of showering). While dad liked to have them prepared for all kinds of combat, most of the time they ended up being in the streets or inside buildings.

_Go figure._

Five rolled his eyes to himself. Not much reason, really, for there to be a constant upkeep of underwater combat training when most villains they faced were your average criminal and occasional serial killer. And, surprise, surprise, most didn’t perform their dastardly deeds in the middle of the fucking ocean.

The small sound of a page turning brought Five back from his internal rant, making him glance back over to Vanya. Right. He needed to relax. He closed his eyes again.

If someone were to twist his arm, he _guessed_ he could say that the cool temperature of the water was _somewhat_ soothing. And the weight of the water on his body _maybe_ felt okay. To be honest, he never really had the chance to try and take in the feeling of what it was like to be in the water. Usually it was all about keeping your balance, how to orient yourself underwater, and the best ways to maintain speed in your attacks despite the added resistance.

Vanya _hmm_ -ed quietly to herself, interrupting his thoughts. “So now you can return to your normal breathing, but you need to slowly tilt onto your back to float.”

Five lightly kicked himself away from the edge to give himself more space to float. A tiny squeak caught his ear and he turned back quickly to find a slightly horrified Vanya gaping at him.

“You splashed me!” She accused.

He couldn’t help but snicker. Her eyes were wide open as if someone had just insulted Mom, eyebrows arching high into her bangs, and her mouth was wide and gaping in a frozen gasp. It was adorable.

“Sorry, sorry.” He didn’t sound very sorry.

He wasn’t.

She rolled her eyes at him before dramatically shaking out the book like he had soaked it with his nonexistent splash. Five smiled at her antics.

“ _Anyway._ You need to float now.” She said this while obviously trying to fight back a smile.

Five sighed. Yeah, yeah, back to relaxing.

He let himself fall onto his back, the water cradling him. Now that he was there, he allowed himself to breath deeply again. Although, this time he kept his mouth closed.

In. Out. In. Out.

You know, maybe he didn’t mind it so much. The water. Maybe it wasn’t so bad. It seemed nice enough, kinda calming.

When they called it ‘floating,’ they really meant it. Five felt like he couldn’t _feel_ anything, not even the weight of his limbs or the pull of his shorts on his thighs as the water lapped at his sides like had been able to earlier.

As he lay there, bobbing in the water, he could see why Vanya had wanted him to try this. Five had read the book she held in her lap, actually. He knew all about the psychology of water on the human mind and body. Knew how the white noise of moving water helped focus the mind, and, contrarily, allowed it to wander and absently find inspiration. It made sense, the effects of water. Humans _were_ essentially seventy-five percent of the stuff.

Truthfully, Five wouldn’t have tried this method for himself. For several reasons. One, the pool was a hassle to get to when you had to avoid basically every adult living in the house. And two, he didn’t have the patience to sit in a glorified tub of lukewarm water and hope that, eventually, _something_ would happen.

But with Vanya.....

With _Vanya_ , he couldn’t say no. It was impossible to.

Vanya always meant well, always put others before herself. And when she had an idea, something that focused on helping another person, she was almost always right. She _knew_ people, understood them. Understood them in a way Five could never really get.

It was one of the many things about her that fascinated him.

Despite all the isolation, the ostracization, all the _shit_ she was put through by their less-than-spectacular family, she still _cared_. She sat with Klaus when he seemed more off his rocker than usual, waited patiently for Diego to finish his words without even the slightest look of annoyance (unlike their neanderthal of a leader who always tried to finish their brother’s sentences for him), and let Allison talk her _ear_ off whenever the girl had read some new, meaningless gossip about so-and-so celebrity and needed to share her opinions about such-and-such fashion. _Hell_ , Vanya even put up with his — what he assumed sounded nonsensical to her — lectures about his time travel theories and never ending string of equations!

_Fuck._ Vanya was too good for them.

Five opened his eyes to glance over at her, the girl who had been occupying his thoughts for far too many years to be considered appropriate. Or even reasonable.

He knew how he felt about her. Shit, of _course_ he knew. He wasn’t an idiot.

That didn’t mean he knew how _she_ felt about _him_ , though. Five never considered himself as insecure, let’s be real. He was a fucking genius — a damn good one — and knew it for fuck’s sake. But in matters of the heart, especially a heart that wasn’t his, he just couldn’t be sure.

Vanya continued to read through the book, eyebrows scrunched in concentration. At some point, she had tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, showing off the slightly red coloring. He wanted to touch it and see if it felt as warm as it looked.

She darted out her tongue, licking her lips as she flipped the page. Without his permission, his eyes flickered to the motion, focusing on the way her lips moved slightly as she mouthed the words to herself.

_God, they’re so_ pink _._

Five groaned internally, trying to shake those thoughts out of his head. He needed to concentrate and relax. For Vanya’s sake at least.

He glanced back at her despite himself.

At sixteen, Vanya’s hair was just a little past her shoulders, curling slightly at the ends. It seemed she favored keeping it more natural lately, and Five couldn’t complain, finding the curls more alluring than was probably necessary. He wanted to run his fingers through her hair, see if it still curled even after having been thoroughly ravaged by his curious hands.

_Fuck!_

This time, Five groaned out loud.

Vanya’s gaze snapped back to him and she frowned. “Come on Five, it’s not that bad.”

“That’s not it.” He groaned as he raised a hand then let it fall back into the water.

“Don’t be such a baby.”

He raised his arm again, higher this time, and made sure the splash was bigger.

“Hey— _Please_ , Five?”

_Ugh._

“For me?”

_Dammit._

Sometimes it was like she knew how he felt for her. And then used that against him.

_Agh!_

He decided he would give it _one last try_. “Ugh, fine.” He closed his eyes again.

It was too early to peek back over at Vanya, so once again Five was left alone with his thoughts. Thoughts that were now officially stuck on the girl only a few feet away…

He snuck a peek back at her anyway. She was back to reading the book again, eyelashes dark and long as she shifted through the words. At some point between scolding him and Five closing his eyes, Vanya had brushed her hair over to one shoulder, exposing her neck.

He could see how the humidity was affecting her, a bead of sweat drawing a lazy trail down the side of her jaw. Five’s eyes tracked its motion as it dripped down the length of her neck, disappearing beneath the collar of her shirt. When had she unbuttoned the top button?

Five felt a sudden rush of heat, a fiery kind of intensity that shot through him like a lightning strike. An unexpected and desperate need to dunk himself below the water overtook him. So he did, eagerly so, letting the soothing cold of the water pull his head back from out of his ass.

The chlorine must be getting to his brain.

How was is possible for someone to be so unaware of their own allure and still be so damn enticing? _Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit._ If Five didn’t know any better, he would have thought he was having a heart attack the way it was pounding in his chest.

It was in that moment he decided then and there that meditation just wasn’t for him. He needed an active distraction, something to take hold of his thoughts like he was the goddamn bull and his brain was the fucking horns.

From underwater, he could see her pale legs idly kicking. She hadn’t noticed him go under. Interesting.

_Hmm._

Well, there was an opportunity for a distraction sitting on a golden platter, all he had to do was reach for it. Five smirked. Why not try and make this experiment a little more entertaining?

Careful so as not to catch her attention, Five made his way towards her slowly, hands stretched out before him. As he watched her legs swing lazily, he couldn’t help but compare himself to a cat. Five was the predator and Vanya’s legs were the poor, unsuspecting canary.

He grabbed at her ankles — hands wrapping around them easily, they were so small — not intending to pull her in, but just to make her react. And damn did she.

Even from under the water, Five could hear her surprised squeal and accusatory “ _Five!_ ”

He popped up from under the water unable to hide his smirk as he watched her snatch her legs into her chest, arms protectively hugging them as if he planned to take them from her. Her face might as well have been on fire with how red it was. He couldn’t help but feel a little smug, knowing for sure this time that he was the reason for it.

“What the hell, Five!?”

He couldn’t help it, he laughed at her bewildered and slightly blaming stare as he came forward to set his arms on the ledge beside her before resting his head on them. He smiled up at her, watching the way she seemed to lean away from him warily, her face somehow only growing redder.

“Don’t be such a baby,” he parroted Vanya’s words back at her, raising his brows to let her know he was joking. She pouted at him, brushing a misplaced lock of hair behind her ear.

_Fuck_ , she was too cute. _Fuck._

“Shut up,” she grumbled.

Five laughed again, unable to hide the sudden rush of joy that so desperately wanted to spill out. If he could see himself from an outsider’s perspective, he was sure he’d see a fucking _twinkle_ in his eye.

“It’s only a bit of water, Vanya.”

She rolled her eyes, but she didn’t look away from him. Her eyes seemed glued to his face, studying it, searching for something. He didn’t know what, but Five felt his own face heat a little.

“What?” Five was curious by nature. He wanted to know what she was looking for, what she saw. When her brown eyes bored into his green, did she see all his secrets, every last hidden piece of himself he allowed no one to see. No one but Vanya?

She blinked, shaken from her thoughts. “Uh, nothing. Sorry. Um.” She stuttered as she turned her face away from him, looking back into the pool and letting her bangs curtain her eyes again.

No. Five didn’t want that.

In an impulsive act of immaturity, he splashed at her. Not enough to get her wet, mind you, just enough to get her attention. He just wanted her attention again. Look at him, dammit. _Please._

She snapped back at him. “ _Five!_ ”

God, he never wanted to stop hearing her say his name. It didn’t matter if she was calling him, laughing at him, upset with him, he’d settle for anything. He looked into her eyes that looked only mildly annoyed with him. “Come in with me,” he blurted out, words escaping his mouth before his brain gave them the okay.

Vanya’s eyebrows shot up at that, clearly shocked by his invitation.

He was sure his expression matched hers. Five was just as surprised by what he had said and _he_ was the one who had _said_ it.

_Shit._

Before he even had the chance to try and salvage his dignity, Vanya interrupted him. “I can’t...” she murmured. Her eyes flickered from his face downwards, avoiding his gaze again. She looked lost as she continued, “I already told you my swimsuit doesn’t fit.” She looked back into eyes, shrugging apologetically.

Fuck the swimsuit. “Please?” It wasn’t often that he begged, but he would do it for her. He’d do anything for her.

Five grabbed at one of her hands, pulling it away from its perch on her knee. He held it like a question, like an invitation to dance. Vanya’s eyebrows scrunched in consideration.

That’s it, just a little bit more and Five knew he’d have her. He smiled at her, small and maybe a _little_ bit mischievous, thumb stroking the back of her knuckles.

Vanya giggled. “That tickles, Five.”

“Does it?” He had hoped it would. “What about this?” Water flew chaotically from his hair as he shook it at her, making her squeak. Five looked up at her, eyebrows raised as a question. He was sure his hair was a mess, but he’d let himself play the fool.

“You need to stop before I actually get soaked,” she laughed as she tried to tug her hand away.

One of her legs had sunken back into the water at some point and Five grabbed at her ankle again, not bothering to think of the consequences. Vanya jerked back at his touch, causing her to land unevenly, her weight now sitting just a little over the edge with a corner of her skirt trailing in the water. The hand he didn’t have held captive now supported the majority of her weight as she glared playfully at him.

“That’s it,” she said in mock anger. With a surprising amount of strength, Vanya yanked her hand free of his and splashed mercilessly.

“Hey!”

Vanya was laughing, clear and bright, and Five decided that that was the best melody he had ever heard, his favorite song. Her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled widely and her nose scrunched when she stuck her tongue out at him.

Her happiness was contagious and finally, _finally_ , Five felt himself fully relax — his laughter spilled from his lips, bubbly and vulnerable and _happy_.

“Come here, you.” He reached for the hand still in the water, but Vanya twisted away from him, still laughing though now with one hand in the air. He tried a second time, coming close enough to feel the breath from her laughter ghost over his skin. Close enough to see the ring of gold in eyes, to see how the color melted from bronze to copper. Close enough to see when realization struck on her face. To feel her breath hitch.

His fingers brushed her arm — softly, gently — startling her. Vanya jumped, just a little.

But it was enough. She fell in.

_Oh fuck._

Sooner than Five could react, she resurfaced, clinging onto the ledge for dear life as she spat up a mouthful of water. He wanted to help her somehow, but Vanya had turn her back to him before he could do anything. It took her a few tries to clear her lungs of the excess water, but eventually she could breathe again.

Five stretched out a hand before hesitantly placing it on her shoulder. “Vanya, are you o—” She splashed him before he could finish the question. That was fine — he deserved it (it was a stupid question anyway).

“Five, you complete jerk!”

Five blinked in surprise, taking a second to process her words. They meant something unpleasant, were a way to express annoyance, a reprimand. But her tone had sounded happy, like she was still giddy. He looked back up at her, absolutely bewildered, only to see her grinning at him.

_“You’re not mad?”_ He couldn’t believe that.

“A little,” she admitted.

He could believe that. “I didn’t mean—”

“I know.”

He crept closer to her, uncertain of how true that was. She watched him as he closed the distance between them, leaving enough space to not make her uncomfortable. At this end of the pool, Five could stand on the ground and easily have his head and shoulders above water. Vanya on the other hand, had to kick her legs and grip the ledge to keep from going under.

Gently, and as carefully as he knew how, Five brushed the messy bangs out of her face, tucking the wet strands behind her ears. From this distance, he could see how her eyelashes clumped together. They looked darker like that, longer too. “You’re okay?”

He hadn’t moved his hand away from her, his palm cupping her cheek. She nodded into his hand, leaning into it. “I’m okay.” Her eyes sparkled when she peered up at him through her eyelashes. Like somehow the stars had found themselves a new sky to shine in.

_Jesus, that was sappy_.

Clearing his throat, he took a small step back. “That— That’s good.”

Five was a coward.

But Vanya refused to let him run. She held his hands in place. “Five?” Her voice was so quiet, barely a whisper, barely a breath. But her eyes, they were _loud_ , igniting every inch of his skin. He was frozen in place, victim to her captivating spell.

“Yes?” His voice cracked, embarrassingly, painfully.

If Five could only use one word to describe Vanya, he would use tender.

Carefully, achingly soft, she pressed her lips against his wrist, right over the tattoo that forever branded him. Her eyelashes tickled his skin as she fluttered them shut. She stayed there, lingered for a heartbeat, two, three, before pulling back to look into his eyes.

His breath caught in his throat. Vanya reached for him, her hand winding its way into his hair, fingers brushing, raking, gliding over it. Fixing it. Her smile was small, happy.

“Your hair’s a mess.” She didn’t move her her hand away, brushing a final strand away from his forehead before resting it on his jaw. The other still rested on the side of the pool, holding her weight.

“Oh,” he breathes, dumbly. It wasn’t usual for Five to be at a loss for words, but somehow Vanya could do it to him.

_Clever girl._

All Five could do was watch her. Watch and watch and watch as she watched him too, their faces cradled in the others’ hands.

She caught her lip between her teeth, teasing it in a way that dragged his eyes down to the movement. But she didn’t notice, her stare now looking away from his, lingering on his collarbone.

“Take me to the shallow end,” she whispered.

Five knew a command when he heard one. He did as he was told, taking her hands in his, momentarily distracted by their size — so tiny and uncalloused, unlike his own — before guiding her with each backward step. And just like that, she followed, their fingers interlaced.

Her hair fanned out around her shoulders, bobbing and swirling in the water like a kind of coppery ocean when she could finally touch the floor. Five wanted to dip his hands in it, feel the soft strands, get lost in their waves. Anything to touch it again.

He cleared his throat. “Better?” He asked, voice low.

She gave his hands a gentle squeeze. “Yes,” she replied, just a soft breath.

And then she did the strangest thing. Her eyes fluttered downwards, where Five could swear his mouth was, lingering there pointedly. Vanya glanced back up, eyes heavy lidded.

_Fuck._

It was like Vanya was a planet with her own gravitational pull and Five was her devoted moon. He couldn’t help it. Five stepped closer, closing what little distance was left between them, the heat of their bodies meeting in the middle.

Slowly, hesitant and testing, Five raised his hands to rest on her shoulders. She let him, bringing up her own hands to place over his, stroking a thumb over his knuckles. Just one little gesture, a faint brush, and his skin was lit with goosebumps, every inch of his body tingly and tense with waiting.

Biting her lip, pearly teeth tugging her bottom lip in the most _devilishly tempting way possible_ , Vanya placed her hands over his chest. Right over his heart where he was absolutely certain she could feel it drumming it’s damn hardest to escape.

Five swallowed.

“Five?”

_God, yes, what._

He leaned forward, nose skimming hers. “Yes,” he breathed, eyes never leaving hers.

She licked her lip. “Kiss me?”

Five had always been impatient, driven to a point that annoyed most of his other siblings. But Vanya had liked that about him, had enjoyed how he fought for what he wanted, how he pushed until he made it possible. His lips were on hers before she could finish the words, mouth greedy and searching and _wanting._

God he had waited so long for her, the _only_ thing he could wait for. Would wait for her forever if he had to.

Her lips were softer than he had imagined, molding to his in a flurry of warmth and wet. He slid his hands upward, sliding them from their place on her shoulders to her neck, her jaw, into her hair, raking his finger through the locks that had always taunted him. He tugged at the waves, tilting her head for a better angle.

Vanya gasped into his mouth, and Five’s heart fucking leapt out. He deepened the kiss in response, feeling her hands – god so fucking _soft_ – climbing up to his neck, holding him in place. Unlike the meek girl he knew so well, Vanya boldly bit his lip, releasing a noise from him that he had never made before. If it were possible, Five would hold her forever like this, their bodies hot and pressed together in a way that made him feel more alive than he thought could ever be possible.

Fuck, he loved her. Right then and there, he knew it in his bones. It was a deep and visceral kind of understanding that she was the one for him. Would be the _only_ one for him. Ever.

All too soon, they broke away, their breaths heavy and shuddering.

Five felt as if every nerve had been set on fire, his skin sensitive to the way her hands palmed at his neck, fingers tickling the hairs. He could feel the way the kiss had affected her too, how every breath she took pushed her heaving chest into his. In an attempt to hold her closer, he wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her as tightly as he could without hurting her.

Vanya’s cheeks were flaming, red from ear to ear, and Five was sorely tempted to kiss every inch of the dyed skin.

So he did.

Right on her cheek, her nose, her eyelids, forehead, chin, lips. It was light, teasing, and he only pecked them softly, but Vanya reached for him before he could fully pull away. Five was fine with that. He smiled into her kiss, taking in her warmth and gentleness.

Every part of him wanted to hold her closer and do it all over again, to keep her there forever with him, but the voice of reason in the back of his head told him it was getting late. Together they were Icarus and they needed to leave soon before they flew too close to the sun.

Reluctantly, Five pulled back, taking in the way her eyes stayed closed before slowly peeking back at him. He had never loved a smile on her more. In that moment, Vanya was bright, bold, _confident._ She grinned at him in a way that lit up her entire face, shedding all the years of hurt and leaving behind an open kind of happiness instead.

God, he wanted to kiss her again.

Instead, Five grinned back at her, sure his ears were as pink as her own. “So,” he started but abruptly stopped, his tone breaking unexpectedly.

_These fucking voice cracks!_

Vanya giggled at him and maybe, _maybe_ he could forgive himself just this one time. “So?” She asked, eyes sparkling with mischief.

_Oh?_

Five could work with that. If she wanted to play, he can play right back. Without holding anything back, he gripped her waist more firmly, rubbing little circles into the soft material of her shirt with his thumbs. Like he expected, she squeaked. Five smirked, leaned in closely, Vanya watching him the whole time. But before he reached her lips though, he stopped to ask, “Was this one of those techniques from your book?” Despite his confidence, he knew he was absolutely wrecked.

Vanya gasped. “The book!” She was swimming over to where she had left her clothes without giving Five the chance to kiss her again, or to even realize she had gone.

_Dammit! Way to open your big fucking mouth, asshole._

Vanya was frantically climbing out of the pool before he could warn her. Oblivious to her current state, she began to wring out her hair into the water as quickly as possible, looking around for her discarded book.

Five swallowed audibly as his mind scrambling in an effort to make sense of the sight before him.

She was wearing red. Underneath. It was red. Five’s brain-short circuited, fizzled, fried. Dead.

“Red,” he blurted.

He shouldn’t be staring, but he couldn’t help it. No matter how hard Five tried to look away and give her some privacy, his body refused to listen, openly gawking at her.

Confused, Vanya turned back to him, her search momentarily forgotten. Following his gaze, she looked down, before letting out an embarrassed squeak, face turning as red as her… well.

_Holy shit._

In a wild attempt to hide the offending object, Vanya threw her arms around herself haphazardly, leaning forward to get some cover from her hair. “It was Allison’s idea!”

“What?”

Somehow, Vanya managed to shrink deeper into herself. Desperately trying to explain further, she opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again like she was trying to remember how Allison got her into this mess. “She… read it in a magazine somewhere. Said that it was better than a white one? You can’t see the color through a light shirt.”

Five was smart, (it was old news, everyone knew this, it was _obvious_ ) but for whatever reason, he couldn’t seem keep up. “I– _What?_ ”

Vanya groaned. “It’s b-because it’s similar to your skin tone, I think, so it’s harder to see through a lightly colored shirt.” She was looking at him in a pleading manner as if she wanted to say _‘come on Five, don’t make me explain any further.’_

For her sake, he nodded. “Right.” He kept nodding. “Makes total sense.”

He watched the way she appeared to be frozen in her tightly wound position, how she made no attempts to move out of it. Taking pity on her, and because it was the right fucking thing to do, Five jumped to the towels, grabbing one for both of them before jumping back over to her.

“Here,” he said as he wrapped it around her shoulders, giving her the cover she so badly wanted.

Vanya looked at him, expression soft. “Thanks.” She pulled the edges tighter around her shoulders.

Offering her a small smile in turn, Five zapped to the lockers to change, mind reeling over everything that had happened. After Vanya had told him to get in the pool, it was like one of Klaus’s ghosts had possessed him — dumbass energy overriding any and all of his common sense. One moment he was meditating and the next he was kissing Vanya.

Holy shit. He kissed Vanya. Five’s body shut down on him, collapsing onto the bench in the middle of the aisle.

Five kissed Vanya. On the mouth. Kissed her _twice_. _On the lips!_

Number fucking Five had kissed the amazing, breathtakingly beautiful Vanya fucking Hargreeves.

He let out a shaky laugh in utter disbelief. How the hell had he done it?

Running a hand through his hair, Five remembered that he was still soaking wet and needed to dry off. He rubbed the same hand down his face. Right. He needed to change and meet back up with Vanya. Five didn’t want to worry her, thinking he had just left her there alone. Not after what they had just done. Together.

Jesus, she had kissed him _back._

Five groaned and flopped backwards onto the bench, unable to wipe away the feeling of her mouth over his, the warmth, the way she had leaned in closer, how her mouth had tasted on his lips, the small gasp she had made… A flash of red shot through his thoughts.

“Fuck!”

Vaulting up from the bench, Five quickly dried himself off with his towel, wiping haphazardly at any limb that stayed still long enough. If he didn’t compose himself soon he’d have to walk Vanya to her room with a goddamn _hunch_.

_Shit, fuck, dammit, fuck, shit!_

He needed to get out of there _fast_ so he wouldn’t be left alone with his thoughts for too long.

Hastily, Five threw on his clothes, not caring if his shirt was buttoned up wrong or that his tie was crooked. He needed to _go._

* * *

They didn’t have to walk to through the house this time, thanks to Five’s abilities and him knowing where they were going now. So all he had to do was take her hand in his and they’d be off. But for once in his unfortunate life, he was feeling _shy._

Five cleared his throat. “So, um.”

Vanya looked up at him, hair tied back and clothes as dry as they could be given how most of them had been in the pool with her. She looked beautiful and Five couldn’t stop thinking about her, no matter how much he scoffed at himself for it.

“We should probably get going.” He finally said.

Vanya nodded, hands behind her back as she shifted from side to side. “Probably.” She watched him, waiting for him to make the next move.

“Right. So.” Awkwardly, Five shoved his hand in her face.

He hoped she didn’t notice how it shook slightly.

Taking it, she smiled up at him, lips quirked in a knowing smile. Well, so much for that.

He squeezed her hand as a small warning that he was about to teleport them.

“Wait!”

Five stopped. Then looked at her, confused.

“Did...was the book any help?” She clutched said item close to her chest. They were lucky it hadn’t gotten knocked into the pool.

He thought about it for a moment. It hadn’t been so bad at first. Well, it hadn’t been great either. His concentration had kept waning, bouncing from irritation with their father to memories about their other siblings to thoughts about her. He hadn’t really felt relaxed at all during the period of the exercise.

No, what had made it even slightly bearable was Vanya being there with him. The meditation hadn’t done anything for him, it was all her. All Vanya.

So he told her, for once trying to be gentle with his words.

She nodded as if expecting the answer. But she didn’t look too hurt. In fact, she looked quite smitten when she glanced back at him, biting her lip to fight a smile. “Well, we can always try something else next time,” she offered.

Five considered this, taking in the way she examined his expression. Did she know what her suggestion had sounded like? Experimentally, he skimmed his thumb over the back of her hand.

If he ever got tired of the way her face lit up at his touch, Five would tell the nearest person to shoot him. Right then and there. Because if he didn’t appreciate the absolutely magnificent girl standing before him then he didn’t deserve to live another day.

Smirking, Five leaned in closer. “You know…” he paused. Vanya held onto his every word. His heart sputtered, stopped, then ran. “I rather liked kissing you.”

“Five!”

She may have sounded mortified, but he could see the pure delight shining through her eyes. Laughing, Five pulled her in for a hug, holding her tightly to him as they disappeared from the pool and into the night.

 

**Author's Note:**

> y’all, this was supposed to be maybe 2k words, but holy shit it grew legs and turned into one hell of a monster. had to wrangle with this beast so many damn times and oncE AGAIN I’D LIKE TO THANK LUCKUBUS FOR HELPING ME WITH IT!!!!!! SHE’S SO GREAT AND WONDERFUL PLEASE SUPPORT HER!!!!!!!
> 
> also, i've never really written a kiss scene like this before so please be gentle ;-;


End file.
